AMERICAN Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) first appeared in the Vietnam war. There are two basic types Drones and Remotely Piloted Vehicles (RPVs).
Drones follow flight "profiles" or tracks which are programmed in before take off. RPVs are controlled by radio signals from a distant base (four to six RPVs per base) and so can have their flight paths varied.
UAVs are used for reconnaissance behind enemy lines for artillery observation and correction and for getting information on deployments and targeting. They are also used for Electronic Counter Measures (ECM). Battle damage assessment, important to allow decisions on further air or artillery attacks, is also a UAV task.
UAVs are usually made from non metallic radar resistant materials and have surfaces curved to give a very poor reflection of radar pulses. Although comparatively slow flying, they are hard to shoot down. They are also small (typically eight feet long) but many sizes exist. Sketches have appeared of a projected "hand sized" UAV, not much bigger than a dollar bill. This version, still under development, will be able to fly in and out of enemy buildings.
Many drones and some RPVs have to land at their base station where their cameras and infra red scanning equipment are taken away for processing. Modern UAVs usually have "real time" down links which can pass photographs and other information to base by radio as they are acquired. They are far cheaper than manned aircraft.
The Israeli forces have several UAVs - some developed in conjunction with the US. Real-time down links were used early in the field - the Tadiran Mastiff Mk III carried a 30 kg payload which could include a real time television camera and down link a panoramic film camera, etc.
It is not yet clear whether the Israeli UAV near Qana was a drone on a fixed camera or an RPV whose course could be varied.
Israeli sources are quoted as saying that it was a drone and on a mission unconnected to Qana. A drone's mission could not be altered. Another Israeli source was quoted on television to the effect that the UAV was "redirected" to the area after the incident occurred. That sounds like an RPV.
The presence of the UAV was denied at first, then admitted when a video taken by a Norwegian soldier was produced.
Fijian UN troops have made the point that there were two Israeli helicopters in the area. One way or the other, there has been a plethora of fresh Israeli information: confusion is often the best means of spreading disinformation.
We may, of course, be getting garbled versions of what is being said. The propaganda stakes are high and we are unlikely to get the truth.
The Fijian Battalion has been in the Lebanon operation since the beginning of the Unifil operation there, in 1978. Its troops tend to be large, good humoured men, tough rugby players. The rapport between them and the Irish has been excellent. A large proportion of the Fijian army is abroad on peacekeeping duties, including troops with the multilateral force on the Israeli Egyptian border.
The Fijians were trained by New Zealand until recently. Like all troops trained in the British tradition, their turn out is very good - starched uniforms, gleaming boots and excellent drill - a reflection of their morale.
The shelling of Qana was attributed to a faulty map at one stage. Israeli maps of the Sinai Desert, made in the six year occupation, were excellent, better than the US maps.
South Lebanon has been occupied by the Israelis for 18 years. In spite of that an incorrect grid reference has also been mentioned.